9: Earth History
- Page ID
- 41201
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- Explain the solar system’s origin and the consequences for Earth.
- Describe the turbulent beginning of Earth during the Hadean and Archean Eons
- Identify the transition to the modern atmosphere, plate tectonics, and evolution that occurred in the Proterozoic Eon
- Describe the Paleozoic evolution and extinction of invertebrates with hard parts, fish, amphibians, reptiles, tetrapods, and land plants; and tectonics and sedimentation associated with the supercontinent Pangea
- Describe the Mesozoic evolution and extinction of birds, dinosaurs, and mammals; and tectonics and sedimentation associated with the breakup of Pangea
- Describe the Cenozoic evolution of mammals and birds, paleoclimate, and tectonics that shaped the modern world
Entire courses and careers have been based on the wide-ranging topics covering Earth’s history. Throughout the long history of Earth, change has been the norm. Looking back in time, an untrained eye would see many unfamiliar life forms and terrains. The main topics studied in Earth history are paleogeography, paleontology, and paleoecology and paleoclimatology—respectively, past landscapes, past organisms, past ecosystems, and past environments. The changes that have occurred since the inception of Earth are vast and significant. From the oxygenation of the atmosphere, the progression of life forms, the assembly and deconstruction of several supercontinents, to the extinction of more life forms than exist today, having a general understanding of these changes can put present change into a more rounded perspective. This chapter will cover briefly the origin of the universe and the 4.6 billion year history of Earth. This Earth history will focus on the major physical and biological events in each eon and Era.
Thumbnail: Spider Rock, within Canyon de Chelly National Monument, not only has a long human history with the Diné tribe but also has a long geologic history. The rocks are Permian in age and formed in the desert conditions that dominated North America toward the end of the Paleozoic through the middle Mesozoic. Erosion of the canyon occurred in the Cenozoic.